


Gold

by 13lackbirds



Category: Wayfarers Series - Becky Chambers
Genre: Domestic, Established Relationship, F/F, body painting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 10:46:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11849976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/13lackbirds/pseuds/13lackbirds
Summary: Rosemary joins Sissix in her room, and the sight of the Aandrisk painting her claws gives her an idea.





	Gold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AuroraCloud](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraCloud/gifts).



Rosemary knocked gently on Sissix’s door, trying not to look too furtive. It was getting late, the lights in the hallway dimmed with artificial nighttime. She was a bit earlier than they’d agreed, but she wasn’t too concerned about that.

She always felt a tiny thrill when she came to Sissix’s room like this. It reminded her in a way of sneaking treats from the counter when she was small. A sneaky, stolen moment of pleasure. Not that this was really a _secret_ \- and, she already knew, it was much more important than those childhood escapades - but it was kind of nice to play at sneaking around, and to not have to explain or think about anyone’s opinion but Sissix’s. 

"Come in," Sissix said, muffled behind the wall. Rosemary jerked the door open, not bothering to open it all the way before she ducked inside, into pleasantly ( _seductively_ , her brain supplied) dim light and a wave of warm, dry air. The air smelled like Sissix, clean but lived-in, welcoming.

Sissix herself was sitting on the floor next to her bed in a nest of blankets, a bottle of gold paint between her legs as she scrawled designs on her back claws. Her feathers were sleek and well-preened, her scales shimmering green. Her clothes had been haphazardly discarded what looked like the moment she came in the door. When she saw Rosemary she perked up, her feathers lifting and the end of her tail twitching happily. Her eyes were bright, and as always being the sole focus of her gaze made Rosemary’s chest grow warm. “Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” Rosemary replied softly, smiling. She began to disrobe, not even feeling a chill as she shrugged out of her shirt. Sissix’s temperature preferences weren’t intolerable, but compared to the rest of the Wayfarer the difference was stark, and in the short time Rosemary been in the room she’d already broken out in a light sweat. She hesitated for a moment about whether or not to fold her blouse, then decided to just let it drop to the floor; she liked the look of her clothes scattered among Sissix's abandoned vest and trousers, even if shedding clothes with your partner didn't mean the same thing to an Aandrisk as it would to a human.

Even if nakedness itself wasn’t titillating to her, Sissix still watched Rosemary’s disrobing with interest, Rosemary noticed. She popped the cap back on her bottle of paint without looking at it, her eyes instead following Rosemary’s movements as she stepped out of her pants and underwear. 

When Rosemary was finished undressing, Sissix smoothed out a wad of blankets and patted the floor next to her. Rosemary felt a tiny glimmer of envy at how effortlessly she managed to look elegant, even when she was sprawling in utter relaxation among a mess. “Come here,” Sissix said. “Let me steal some of your warmth.” 

Rosemary sank to the floor next to her and pressed herself up against Sissix’s side, burrowing under her arm a bit. She looped an arm around Sissix’s waist and dropped the other hand to her thigh, stroking the skin where the larger, thicker scales on Sissix’s hips began to fade into the lighter, more delicate and sensitive scales lining her belly and inner thighs. Sissix dropped her head to Rosemary’s shoulder and buried her face in her hair, rumbling contentedly in her throat.

Rosemary picked up the bottle of paint and examined it curiously. The gold pigment swirled as she turned it back and forth, tiny opalescent particles catching the light. “I haven’t ever actually seen you do this,” she remarked.

Sissix flexed her toes, her claws catching slightly on the blanket. Rosemary noticed that the paint didn’t smear; _must be fast-drying,_ she thought. “Nothing special,” Sissix drawled, stroking Rosemary’s arm. “I like the color, and it feels nice to kick back and pamper myself a bit every now and then.”

Rosemary smiled and lifted a hand to Sissix’s feathers. By now she knew exactly how Sissix liked to be touched, how to use her nails as much as possible when she scratched between the quills, but Sissix’s feather still felt unlike anything else Rosemary had ever touched - thick and fibrous at the stalks, yet incredibly soft at the plumes. “You deserve to be pampered.”

“ _Mmmm._ ” Sissix turned toward her in one smooth movement and swung her leg over Rosemary’s shins, pressing herself against Rosemary in a way that made her heart speed up. Sissix grinned at her, her breath soft against Rosemary’s face. “Well, if you insist.” 

Rosemary ignored the look on Sissix’s face and the heat building in her belly, though. Sex with Sissix was fun, almost always casual, impulsive, low-pressure, focused more on the simple pleasure of being together than on some grand seduction. Rosemary loved it, but - maybe it was the lighting, but she had another idea for now. She waved the bottle of paint. "How easily does this come off?"

Sissix looked puzzled. "I have a remover chemical, so very easily." She chuckled. "Luckily for me. I broke a whole bottle of it in here before."

"And it won't hurt if it gets on you in places other than your nails?"

Understanding was dawning in Sissix’s eyes. "No."

Rosemary unscrewed the cap of the bottle and tested the brush against her own nail. The fibers were tough and springy, allowing her to easily paint tapered lines by varying the pressure. The paint looked a bit out-of-place on her hand, too flashy for her personality. A much better fit for Sissix, as vibrant and beautiful as she was.

"I want to paint you," Rosemary said. 

Sissix's feathers lifted, fanning out to frame her face. She offered her hand to Rosemary. “Do as you please,” she said.

Sissix’s claws were thick, newly filed down - a perfect canvas for practicing her linework. Rosemary swirled the brush in a lopsided curlicue, wincing a bit at her lack of expertise. Sissix chuckled and nuzzled her cheek. “I’ve had a lot more practice than you.”

"I'm sure by the time I've covered you I'll be an expert." Rosemary smiled.

"You do always pick things up quickly."

Rosemary lifted her head and kissed Sissix on her cheek, then again just above her mouth. Sissix moved her face so her flat lips rested against Rosemary's. The shape of Aandrisk faces didn't really work for kissing the way humans did it, but they managed. Rosemary opened her mouth and Sissix flicked her tongue across her teeth. Without pulling away, Rosemary made another haphazard swipe with the brush, and Sissix gave a hissing laugh into her mouth.

The wild splatter of paint actually looked pretty nice against Sissix's fingers. Rosemary dipped the brush back in the bottle and then tried a second swirl across another of Sissix's claws. She made herself move the brush fast and loose, and the results were much prettier - smooth, effortless-looking.

"That's right," Sissix said, curling her tail around Rosemary's thigh. "Relax."

Rosemary lifted Sissix's hand and kissed the back of it before turning it over and drawing the brush across her palm, watching the paint coat and pool between the tiny scales. Sissix's nose wrinkled as if she were ticklish, showing a bit of teeth in a way that made Rosemary’s pulse pick up.

Gold slowly crept up Sissix's arm. The Aandrisk woman watched, a steady presence against Rosemary's side. Rosemary felt herself lulled into a quiet contentment too. The repetition of applying paint and dipping the brush again, the soft scrape of the brush over Sissix's scales, the sound of Sissix's breathing, the gold paint glimmering in the dim light, all of it was profoundly relaxing. 

Rosemary painted branching swirls, letting the paint eddy and flow along the curves of Sissix's body. When she finished her arm she nudged her gently, encouraging her to turn so Rosemary could continue up her shoulder and across her neck and chest. She let the arches grow bigger on the wide, horizontal scales of Sissix's belly, and clustered them closer together like a network of lace as they wound up her throat. She painted round dots along Sissix's upper lip, a lattice of spirals across the tops of her feet, a series of alternating crescents along her hips. As she painted she kept her free hand on Sissix, rubbing her where she hadn't yet painted, or where the paint was dry, and encouraging her to turn when Rosemary was ready to move on to a new portion of her long, graceful body. 

By the time Rosemary finished her latticework of gold at the base of Sissix’s spine, the Aandrisk was hissing near-constantly, shifting restlessly under Rosemary’s touch. Her obvious pleasure fanned the spark of arousal in Rosemary’s belly, but she wanted to take a moment to lookat her handiwork.

The swirls of gold seemed to make Sissix’s scales glow a deep emerald from within. She was bright and gorgeous in a way that made Rosemary feel suddenly out of place. Rosemary must have been still for a moment too long because Sissix's feathers ruffled slightly and she turned to look at Rosemary over her shoulder. She held Rosemary's gaze for a moment with an expression of unfathomable fondness, then lifted a hand and cupped Rosemary's face as well as she could, her blunt nails trailing into Rosemary's hair. 

Rosemary bent and kissed her, pressing herself along Sissix's side as the other woman turned to meet her, and Sissix made a rumbling hiss deep in her throat and chest that Rosemary recognized as a sound of deep contentment. She kissed the Aandrisk’s neck, threaded her fingers through the feathers at the back of her skull and gave a gentle tug, causing Sissix to hiss encouragingly. Sissix tilted her hips up underneath Rosemary, her body moving in one long, graceful shrug that still left her intent perfectly clear. Her tail moved to the side, curling against Rosemary's thigh. She felt good between Rosemary’s legs and against her belly, all sleek scales and corded muscle. 

This, Rosemary was reminded suddenly, was what home meant to her. The Wayfarer, and Sissix. Being a part of this family, sharing this with her, gave Rosemary a pang of happiness so intense it almost hurt. Sissix pressed close for another kiss, her taste soothing and familiar, and Rosemary let herself lose herself in it.

When Sissix moved beneath her she shimmered, as familiar and alluring as the light of distant stars.


End file.
